PM faces a looming revolt over a no-deal Brexit as Corbyn criticises her talks as ‘PR sham’Theresa May doubled down on her opposition to a second Brexit referendum on Monday night, claiming it would threaten Britain’s “social cohesion” and insisting the centrepiece of her strategy remained negotiating changes to the Irish backstop.With just 67 days to go until Britain is due by law to leave the European Union, May exasperated MPs and business groups by offering scant evidence that she was willing to change course. Continue reading...

Bangladeshi firm that made charity Spice Girls T-shirts also works with major UK retailersRevealed: Spice Girls T-shirts made in factory paying staff 35p an hourTesco, Marks & Spencer and Mothercare use a factory in Bangladesh that paid the equivalent of 35p an hour to machinists making Spice Girls T-shirts sold to raise money for Comic Relief, it can be revealed.A Guardian investigation disclosed that the predominantly female employees claimed they experienced verbal abuse and harassment from management during shifts of up to 16 hours. Continue reading...

The pace of ice loss has increased four-fold since 2003 as enormous glaciers are depositing ever larger chunks of ice into the Atlantic ocean, where it melts, causing sea levels to riseGreenland is melting faster than scientists previously thought, with the pace of ice loss increasing four-fold since 2003, new research has found.Enormous glaciers in Greenland are depositing ever larger chunks of ice into the Atlantic ocean, where it melts. But scientists have found that the largest ice loss in the decade from 2003 actually occurred in the southwest region of the island, which is largely glacie[...]

Initial footage appeared to show students, some wearing pro-Trump Maga hats, from a Kentucky high school taunting Nathan Phillips, an Omaha tribe elderLonger video footage of a confrontation between a Native American activist and Kentucky high school students at a protest has surfaced, providing fresh insight into the controversial encounter and offering a broader view of deepening divisions in America. Related: Kentucky teenager denies mocking Native American veteran Continue reading...

Changes in levels of a protein might reveal onset of disease long before symptoms appearChanges in levels of a protein in the blood could help shed light on damage in the brain more than a decade before symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease develop, researchers have revealed.While there is no drug to stop the progression of Alzheimer’s, or cure it, the researchers said the study findings could be used by doctors to help anticipate when patients might start to show symptoms of the disease. Continue reading...

Labour’s Tulip Siddiq says Tories are delaying changes to Commons rules for advantageLabour MP Tulip Siddiq, who delayed the birth of her son to vote in parliament last week, has complained that senior Conservatives are delaying the introduction of a proxy voting system to gain a “partisan advantage”.The MP, whose son was born by caesarean on Thursday, two days after she was wheeled through the division lobbies, said that a system of allowing sick or pregnant MPs to vote when unavoidably absent was “an issue of basic decency”. Continue reading...

Struggling cafe chain says update will be given when talks with banks concludeShareholders in Patisserie Valerie have expressed frustration at a lack of information from the cake and cafe business, which is struggling for survival as it tries to secure support from its banks.The company, which operates 200 cafes and employs nearly 3,000 staff, has been seeking to extend a standstill agreement on its bank facilities. The agreement protects the business from action to recover debts and it officially expired at midnight on Friday. Continue reading...

Ex-Radio 2 presenter becomes latest to move to commercial rival with launch of Scala RadioSimon Mayo is to launch a national classical music radio station, becoming the latest BBC presenter to depart for a commercial rival as the corporation struggles to keep hold of its top talent.The broadcaster quit Radio 2 at the end of last year after more than three decades with the BBC, following a troubled year sharing his afternoon slot with Jo Whiley in a format that flopped with listeners. Continue reading...

Family Line will be open every weekday evening and for three hours at weekendsA national freephone helpline for people in stressed-out families who feel they have no one else to talk to is to be unveiled by the Duchess of Cambridge.Aimed at people struggling with issues including family rows, money worries, new parenthood and relationship difficulties, Family Line will be launched on Tuesday by the duchess, who is focusing her charity work on early intervention in domestic problems, including supporting people who are about to start family life. Continue reading...

Department discriminated against Isabella Valentine, employment tribunal rulesA disabled woman was discriminated against when she was unfairly sacked by the Department for Work and Pensions, which behaved in a “perverse” and “blinkered” manner, a judge has found.Isabella Valentine, 38, was employed by the DWP on a programme designed to get vulnerable, long-term unemployed people back into work by nurturing and training apprentices over a 12-month period, bringing them to a point where they could apply for jobs in the usual way. Instead, “inexplicable and strange” disciplinary measures were tak[...]

Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2019

The pace of ice loss has increased four-fold since 2003 as enormous glaciers are depositing ever larger chunks of ice into the Atlantic ocean, where it melts, causing sea levels to riseGreenland is melting faster than scientists previously thought, with the pace of ice loss increasing four-fold since 2003, new research has found.Enormous glaciers in Greenland are depositing ever larger chunks of ice into the Atlantic ocean, where it melts. But scientists have found that the largest ice loss in the decade from 2003 actually occurred in the southwest region of the island, which is largely glacie[...]

Attackers detonated car bomb inside complex in Maidan Wardak province, say officialsThe Taliban have launched a major attack on an Afghan military compound in central Maidan Wardak province, officials have said, with some putting the death toll at more than 100 people.Monday’s incident at a campus of the National Directorate of Security (NDS) is the latest in a series of deadly attacks in recent months by the Taliban, which has seized control of about half of Afghanistan. Continue reading...

PM faces a looming revolt over a no-deal Brexit as Corbyn criticises her talks as ‘PR sham’Theresa May doubled down on her opposition to a second Brexit referendum on Monday night, claiming it would threaten Britain’s “social cohesion” and insisting the centrepiece of her strategy remained negotiating changes to the Irish backstop.With just 67 days to go until Britain is due by law to leave the European Union, May exasperated MPs and business groups by offering scant evidence that she was willing to change course. Continue reading...

Initial footage appeared to show students, some wearing pro-Trump Maga hats, from a Kentucky high school taunting Nathan Phillips, an Omaha tribe elderLonger video footage of a confrontation between a Native American activist and Kentucky high school students at a protest has surfaced, providing fresh insight into the controversial encounter and offering a broader view of deepening divisions in America. Related: Kentucky teenager denies mocking Native American veteran Continue reading...

Changes in levels of a protein might reveal onset of disease long before symptoms appearChanges in levels of a protein in the blood could help shed light on damage in the brain more than a decade before symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease develop, researchers have revealed.While there is no drug to stop the progression of Alzheimer’s, or cure it, the researchers said the study findings could be used by doctors to help anticipate when patients might start to show symptoms of the disease. Continue reading...

CNIL found that company failed to offer users transparent information on data useThe French data protection watchdog CNIL has fined Google a record €50m (£44m) for failing to provide users with transparent and understandable information on its data use policies.For the first time, the company was fined using new terms laid out in the pan-European general data protection regulation. The maximum fine for large companies under the new law is 4% of annual turnover, meaning the theoretical maximum fine for Google is almost €4bn. Continue reading...

Open letter says the arrests mean diplomats are more cautious about work in ChinaMore than 140 former diplomats and leading China experts have called on Xi Jinping to release two Canadian citizens detained last month as a diplomatic stand-off between Ottawa and Beijing escalates.In an open letter Chinese president, former envoys to China from Canada, the UK, the US, Australia, Germany, Sweden and Mexico described how the arrests of Michael Kovrig, a Canadian diplomat on leave, and Michael Spavor, a businessman, have sent a chill through the diplomatic community. Continue reading...

Carlos Fernando Chamorro goes into exile citing President Ortega’s media crackdownNicaragua’s best-known journalist has gone into exile after armed police raided and ransacked his newsroom in what experts called the latest chapter of the country’s slide into autocracy under President Daniel Ortega.Carlos Fernando Chamorro, the editor of Confidencial, a combative newsletter and website and a member of one of Nicaragua’s most influential families, announced his decision on Sunday. Continue reading...

Blackout on social media apps continues after arrests, strikes and protests over fuel pricesZimbabwe’s high court has ordered the country’s government to restore the internet in full, ruling that the security minister did not have the power to issue such a directive.The court said only President Emmerson Mnangagwa has the authority to make such an order. Continue reading...

Abdulah Husseini, a suspect in theft case that went viral online, arrested in LondonA suspected thief who resembles the Friends star David Schwimmer has been arrested after failing to appear in court before Christmas.An arrest warrant was issued last month for Abdulah Husseini, 36, from Slough, after he did not attend a hearing in Blackpool over allegations of theft and fraud. Continue reading...

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